Category Archives: current events

Berkeley Gets Shiny New Recycling Bins

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by current events • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

I have to confess… I was pretty excited when I was walking home this afternoon and noticed a new bin outside every house on my street. Including my house.

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The Ecology Center, which manages Berkeley’s recycling program, and Mayor Tom Bates have unveiled the new bins to be used by Berkeley residents. According to Berkeleyside:

The new carts have already started to appear on curbsides and a total of 36,000 of them will be delivered to Berkeley residents in single family homes over the next month.  Seven new trucks designed to handle the new carts are also now in use — the trucks are also divided into two sections, the larger of which holds paper and cardboard materials.

Apparently the bins are also designed to discourage poachers:

Accessing materials is more difficult than from an open box which might … put off potential poachers. The lid of the new cart is also printed with an advisory that the material contained in the cart is city property.

You can read the entire story here.

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A Quote

by current events • Tags: , , ,

Chris Field, Director of the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology at Stanford University, 2010:

The fact that we have the technology does not mean we have the solutions … there’s a question of scale.

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Update on Spending on Prop 23

by current events, energy • Tags: , , , , , , , ,

From the New York Times today:

At the start of the campaign for California’s Proposition 23, the ballot measure that would suspend the state’s global warming law, opponents darkly warned that the Texas oil companies backing the initiative would spend as much as $50 million to win the election.

But with three weeks until Election Day, it is the No on 23 coalition of environmentalists, investors and Silicon Valley technology companies that is raking in the cash, taking in nearly twice as much money as the Yes on 23 campaign.

As of Monday, the No on 23 forces had raised $16.3 million to the Yes campaign’s $8.9 million, according to California Secretary of State records. Over the past two weeks, nearly $7 million has flowed into No campaign coffers while contributions to the Yes effort had fallen off dramatically.

Read the entire story here.

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Assorted Links

by current events, energy, links • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The United States military is becoming a proponent of renewable energy – a director of “operational energy plans and programs” was appointed over the summer to oversee the military’s transition to a more energy-efficient and renewable future.

The White House goes solar (again) with photovoltaic solar collectors and a solar hot water heater.

Greentech Media offers the “real” history of solar at the White House via an account from Steven Strong.

Yesterday, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, approved the first large-scale solar energy plants to be built on federal land.

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LBNL Open House on Saturday 10/2

by current events, energy • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Image credit: LBNL website

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, located up in the hills overlooking Berkeley, California, is hosting an open house on Saturday, October 2.

Ever wonder how biofuels are produced, cool roofs and smart windows reduce energy use, the Internet was created, or supernovas are discovered? Families, community members, and others who want to learn the answers to these and other scientific questions are invited to attend Berkeley Lab’s Open House.

Visitors can talk directly with scientists conducting cutting-edge research, check out a cosmic ray detector, sequence DNA, create and measure their own seismic waves, build a motor at the Family Adventure Zone, or take a tour of the Advanced Light Source, one of the world’s brightest sources of ultraviolet and soft x-ray beams, among numerous other activities. Performances, displays, demonstrations, lectures, tours and food vendors will also be featured.

It is important to note that registration is required for everyone interested in attending. There are two sessions, morning and afternoon. More details are available here.

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Assorted Links

by current events, links • Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Parts of California experience a record heat wave – Los Angeles had its highest recorded temperature of 113 deg F yesterday.

Schwarzenegger lashes out at the companies trying to get rid of California’s carbon regulation law,  AB 32.

Meg Whitman has now stated that she is against Prop 23 but would still suspend AB 32 for a year if elected.

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Local Target Stores & Hazardous Waste

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by current events, waste • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, all nine of the Target stores in Alameda County have been involved in illegal disposal of products containing hazardous waste by collecting and crushing batteries, phones and computers in the stores’ trash compactors to avoid disposal fees. An Alameda County judge has ordered the stores, among 240 in California accused of the practice, to stop.

According to the Washington Post, the lawsuit brought by the state of California and several cities and counties contends that Target stores routinely throw hazardous items such as bleach, pesticides, paint, aerosols and electronics directly into the trash. California has laws requiring special handling of hazardous waste.

Read the entire story here and here.

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Noelle has previously addressed the need to properly disposed of e-waste as part of a post on Extended Producer Responsibility.

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New! Announcing “Events” and “Webinars” Pages

by current events • Tags: , , ,

We are working hard to build both a resource and a community here at Zero Resource.

To further build the community, we have launched an “Upcoming Bay Area Events” page to feature local events and speakers.

And because this is an online community, we have launched a “Webinars” page to feature interesting online presentations.

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You can navigate to the Events and Webinars pages through links in the right-hand column.

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Please send along interesting events and webinars to anna AT zeroresource DOT com. We will post those that we think will interest our readers.

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Full List of AC Transit Cuts

by current events, transportation • Tags: , , , , ,

The full list of night and weekend buses with service being cut has now been posted on the AC Transit website here.

Weekend lines that will continue to operate include: Lines 1, 1R, 18, 20, 22, 26, 40, 45, 51A, 51B, 57, 60, 72, 72M, 73, 76, 88, 97, 99, 210 and 217.

Lines that will be cut include: Lines 7, 11, 12, 14, 21, 25, 31, 32, 49, 52, 54, 62, 65, 67, 68, 70, 71, 74, 85, 86, 89, 93, 95, 98, 242, 251, 275, 332, 345, 350, 376, 386, F, NL and O.

The discontinued All-Nighter service includes Lines 802, 805, 840 and 851. Lines 800 and 801 will not be affected.

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Update on AC Transit Cuts

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by current events, transportation • Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Last night, AC Transit’s board of directors voted unanimously to slash night and weekend bus service in an effort to reduce the projected $40 million budget deficit.

Thirty-nine “minor” weekend routes are on the chopping block, but most major weekend routes will be left intact.

Four of the six all night buses will disappear. The only surviving lines will be the 800 and the 801.

According to Berkeleyside, 9 weekend services will be eliminated in Berkeley – the 1R, 7, 12, 25, 49, 52, 65, 67 and the Transbay F.

Another decision on paratransit services was postponed.

The full set of cuts should be posted on the AC Transit site soon.

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Noelle has previously written about the challenges facing AC Transit – AC Transit Cuts (5/25/10), AC Transit Cuts, Part 2 (6/2/10), and AC Transit Cuts, Part 3 (7/8/2010).

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